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This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>>the next few days could bring blockbuster decisions from the
u.s. supreme court
. once again, our justice correspondent
pete williams
.

>> reporter: the hot button issue of
gay rights
dominates an unusually long
list of cases
left to decide.

>>i can't remember a week that is as historic as the one we're about to see where you have at least three or four decisions that will lead the evening news and will be remembered for decades or even centuries.

>> reporter: two gay couples are challenging the
proposition 8
in california.

>>we're no different than anyone else. marriage benefits us and doesn't harm you.

>> reporter: the court will rule on the defensive
marriage act
. it blocks the
federal government
from recognizing same-sex marriages in the states where they're legal. in the three months since the court heard the state, legislator turs in three more states have agreed to permit. no way to know how that will influence the justices. the court will decide the fate of the most important
civil rights law
ever passed. it requires states with a history of discrimination to get federal approval before changing how they conduct elections. selby county south of birmingham says the law is so outdated it's no longer constitutional.

>>the america that recollected
barack obama
is not the america of our grand parents and parents.

>> reporter: another case challenges
affirmative action
in school admissions. the you've of texas. when the case was argued last october, a majority including chief justice john rockets seems to find that too vague.

>>when will i know that you've reached a
critical mass
?

>> reporter: one bit of drama we're not expecting is a retirement, the court's oldest justice ruth gator ginsberg shows no sign of slowing down.